Chainlink Significantly Expands Stream Count, Accelerating Digitization of U.S. Stock and ETF Trading

Chainlink has taken a major step forward in digitizing the U.S. stock market. The company’s recently unveiled significant expansion of data streams will enable the decentralized trading platform to transcend the constraints of traditional business hours and deliver accurate price information almost 24 hours a day. Of particular note is that as the number of streams increases, after-hours sessions such as pre-market, after-market, and overnight trading are also included. This innovative upgrade aims to bridge the liquidity gap, which has long been a challenge in bringing physical assets on-chain.

Background of the Need for Accurate Pricing in Off-Market Transactions

Traditionally, there have been significant obstacles when trading US stocks on the blockchain. The existing data feed was only for regular market hours, and did not provide accurate price information during pre-market and overnight trading hours. As a result, developers of decentralized exchanges were left in a binary situation: pause trading or continue trading at an inaccurate price. This led to the problem of US stocks being significantly undervalued on-chain. Chainlink’s new stream count expansion puts this fundamental challenge to a solution.

Adoption of a pull model balances gas costs and transaction speed

Chainlink’s new features are based on a different design philosophy than existing Price Feeds products. Price feeds for lending platforms like Aave are push-based that regularly report price information on-chain, while new data streams use a pull model. The advantage of this pull model is that it only provides sub-second updates when a transaction occurs. As a result, we can significantly reduce the enormous network costs associated with constant on-chain reporting while accommodating high-frequency transactions.

In addition, as the number of streams increases, the expanded feed also includes important metadata such as market state flags and bid-ask spreads. This information is essential for protocols to adjust risk parameters appropriately, especially during periods of low liquidity. This attention to detail ensures the overall health of the market.

Collaborating with Financial Institutions to Accelerate the Implementation of Tokenized Equities

Chainlink’s commitment extends beyond mere data distribution. The company collaborates with global financial institutions such as SWIFT, Euroclear, and Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) to replicate the entire traditional asset lifecycle on-chain. Specifically, they are building infrastructure to automate corporate actions such as dividends, stock splits, and mergers.

This system ensures that tokenized assets reflect significant fluctuations in the underlying stock without manual intervention. This, coupled with the expansion of trading data streams, creates an environment where tokenized stocks remain functional and accurate even outside of trading hours. A mechanism in which traditional financial markets and markets on blockchain are more closely linked is being completed.

Major Exchanges Already Leverage Stream Count Enhancements

Chainlink’s technological innovations have already begun to be adopted in the market. Major derivatives exchanges such as BitMEX and Lighter are now leveraging this data stream feature to offer perpetual futures contracts without expiration on US stocks and ETFs, with the increased number of streams covering more stocks and more detailed market information.

This shows that a trading environment comparable to traditional financial markets is being developed on the blockchain. Market participants can now experience firsthand the benefits of increased stream counts.

NYSE Plans to Launch Full-Fledged Blockchain Stock Trading Platform

Chainlink’s announcement also reflects the overall market trend. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has announced plans to introduce a 24-hour blockchain-based tokenized stock and ETF trading platform in the second half of 2026, and Chainlink’s expansion of the number of streams is a prerequisite for this large-scale project.

As the trillion-dollar U.S. stock market finally embarks on a digital journey, Chainlink’s technological infrastructure will play a central role. The steady expansion of the number of streams is a symbolic event of this historic turning point.